Cote d’Ivoire thrash Burkina Faso to make a perfect WAFCON 2026 return

Côte d’Ivoire marked their long-awaited return to the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) Morocco 2026 with a commanding 4-1 victory over Burkina Faso in their Group B opener at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Monday night.

Making their first appearance at the continental showpiece in 12 years, the Lady Elephants produced a clinical first-half display to take complete control of the West African derby before comfortably seeing out the contest after the break.

Rebecca Elloh opened the scoring from the penalty spot, while Ines Konan netted a superb brace. Burkina Faso briefly threatened a comeback through Adama Congo, but Nsira Ouedraogo wrapped up an emphatic win with Côte d’Ivoire’s fourth goal.

The convincing victory puts Reynald Pedros' side in a strong position in Group B after Tanzania stunned South Africa 2-1 in the group's earlier fixture.

The Lady Elephants wasted little time asserting themselves and were rewarded with an early breakthrough in the seventh minute.

Experienced forward Rebecca Elloh calmly converted from the penalty spot to hand Côte d’Ivoire the lead, settling any early nerves after their lengthy absence from the tournament.

The Ivorians doubled their advantage just seven minutes later when Rosemonde Kouassi set up Ines Konan, who finished confidently to make it 2-0.

Konan grabbed her second goal of the evening in the 23rd minute, this time finishing off a well-worked move created by Nsira Ouedraogo, giving Côte d’Ivoire a commanding 3-0 lead before halftime.

Their high pressing, quick passing and clinical finishing left Burkina Faso with little room to recover during a dominant opening 45 minutes.

Burkina Faso came out with renewed determination after the restart and pulled a goal back within a minute.

Adama Congo found the net in the 46th minute after being brilliantly set up by Balkissa Sawadogo, giving the Lady Stallions a glimmer of hope.

However, any thoughts of a comeback were quickly extinguished.

Just 10 minutes later, Nsira Ouedraogo capped an outstanding individual performance by scoring Côte d’Ivoire’s fourth goal, restoring the three-goal advantage and effectively sealing all three points.

Head coach Reynald Pedros will be delighted with the performance as his side delivered on their pre-tournament ambitions with an impressive display of quality and composure.

The experienced Rebecca Elloh led by example, while Ines Konan's brace and Nsira Ouedraogo's goal and assist highlighted Côte d’Ivoire’s attacking strength.

Captain Bernadette Amani Kakounan had spoken about the pride of returning to the WAFCON stage, and her teammates responded with a performance that underlined their determination to compete for a place in the knockout rounds.

Although Burkina Faso suffered a heavy defeat, their spirited second-half response showed signs of resilience that could prove important in their remaining group matches.

Côte d’Ivoire's emphatic victory, coupled with Tanzania's surprise win over South Africa earlier in the day, has transformed the outlook of Group B.

With the top two teams progressing to the quarter-finals, the Lady Elephants have given themselves an ideal platform ahead of their next fixture as they chase a place in the knockout stage.